Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Sweaty Armpits

The first thing she said was "You shouldn't have worn that dark blue shirt. Your armpits were disgustingly sweaty." It wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't thought that the shirt was rather 'Cameron' and that the AM/PM programme I'd just done had gone rather well.

I'd been a guest on today's programme for the BBC between 11.30 and 1.00 with ex-AM, Alun Pugh and Dr Laura McAllister discussing the political goings on in Cardiff Bay and Prime Minister's Questions. There were several really interesting subjects - but when I rang home to see how things were, the only subject my wife wanted to talk about was my sweaty armpits. It does make the point that if I want to be taken seriously and have people listen to the case I'm making, I really am going to have to improve my presentation.

It was interesting to chat informally amongst some of those involved in all the discussions about the future Assembly Government around Cardiff Bay today.. There is real momentum behind the Rainbow Coalition. I think that even Plaid's 'gang of four' will accept the majority view. In fact, I have quite a bit of admiration for them. I was a lot more disappointed in the interview Jill Evans, MEP and Vice President of Plaid was giving on Good Evening Wales as I was driving home. She just seems to want her party to remain in perpetual opposition. My only real doubt is the Lib Dems, none of whom I encountered in Cardiff Bay today. Well, there are only six of them. It is odd that so much influence on how Wales is governed rests with so few Lib Dem activists. Spent a long time with Darren Millar today - and I have to say that I think he is being under-rated. He could be a bit stong willed but he's going to be an influential Assembly Member, both reasonable and devolutionary.

I am frustrated by difficulty blogging at the moment. I have had so much trouble rearranging my computer access that I am still having to travel to Welshpool at night to access a computer. Still, I should be back up to speed in a few days time. I will have a new personal line at home and will order broadband tomorrow.. By the time I read all the comments on Blamerbell's and Iain Dale's blogs, its time to go home.

17 comments:

It's not 45 minutes after your post and i think the momentum may have gone out of the Rainbow Coalition.The news on the was so disappointing, what on earth will happen now.Mathematically Plaid and the Tories can still win a vote, but there is just no chance of stability.It's time to worry about more than Sweaty Armpits Glyn!

I take it your phone line and internet issues are related to you loosing your seat Glyn? Did you have a government.gsi line in your house when you were an elected member, is that how it works? I can't belive that you would be setting up a phone-line and broadband for the first time ever?!

You say "Spent a long time with Darren Millar today - and I have to say that I think he is being under-rated. He could be a bit stong willed but he's going to be an influential Assembly Member, both reasonable and devolutionary."I'm not a Tory (or even a Rainbow!) but as a colleague of Darren Millar on North Wales Pilice Authority (I am an Independent Member)I agree with you that Darren Millar can be very effective. He will enjoy you describing him as "strong-willed" but will almost certainly resent being seen as "reasonable"! My line with Darren is that he is there (on the Police Authority) to make ME look reasonable!.

I think there will be quite a few sweaty parts around today Glyn I feel so let down, from optimism about a new start to Wales and politics Here in the valleys so many people were talking with a new gusto about Cardiff Bay I had hoped that apathy was giving way to interest Even across the border there was interest and now the smallest party with the least credibility scuppers it all Lets hope Labour come up with an alternative candidate for leader

It would never have worked Glyn. The rainbow coalition would have fallen apart at the first difficult decision it had to take. The past few weeks really have summed up the poor quality of much of the political class in Wales. We are stll suffering from the way in which the Labour party rigged the selection of candidates for the 1999 assembly election. Individuals who would have made a difference to Welsh politics were deliberately not selected by the party establishment. As result some are not even any longer actively involved in politics. Wales needs all the help it can get at the moment and there is a crying need for all parties to ensure that those it elects to stand for the assembly have the ability to take the decisions necessary to move the counntry forward. The Lib dems are an odd party held together by negative rather than positive attitudes, As for Plaid it really is a coalition between rural conservatives and an collection of individuals who if the lived in England would be active in a trotskyist fringe party. The attitude of the so called gang of 4 seems to be a throw back to 1960s student politics. Hardly surprising since at least 3 of them were elected by no one except the dwindling band of party activists who put them top of their regional lists. They now that they will probably be assembly members forever under the present system as long as they curry favour with the party faithful.That means Glyn that they will never agree with any deal with the Tories as long as the sun rises in the morning and goes down at night.

I have never been more glad that I left the LibDems last summer than I am today.

They are NOT a serious party. Their Exec is made up of the old and silly, the young and callow and the socially inept. What kind of decision did you seriously expect from this shower?!?

I am heartened that the AM vote was as decisive as can be in such a small group. Perhaps Mike should have been MUCH more heavy handed with Peter when he first started his whine on 4 May? Black's petulant child routine, crying until he gets his way, has been well known for the last twenty years at local government level and I am led to believe has been in full flow over the past eight years in Cardiff Bay. Mick Bates once told a friend of mine that Black had written his letter of resignation about six times in as many years over petty squabbles in the Group...perhaps they should have been accepted?!?

The shilly-shallying of the LibDems makes the Welsh polity look quite ridiculous. Stability, dignity, majesty - hardly three things one would associate with Welsh Government tonight. How can Wales be taken seriously when its own party political culture is so immature and seemingly based far too much on egos and personality battles?

The LibDems natural home is in propping up Labour - that is what they will undoubtedly end up doing at Westminster should there be a hung Parliament. That is what Mike wanted to do in Wales. But others, because of their ridiculous parochialism, made a huge racket (like a kid creating merry hell in a supermarket to get a bag of sweets) over the effect on a few Council seats. The irony for Peter is that the LibDem's decision effectively means a return to government for Wales without any single LibDem policy being taken onboard. Try that one on for size before next year's locals, Peter!

Just to let all those pissed off LibDems know - I've got plenty of Conservative Party Membership Pads!

Aren't we just missing the point here though. The blogs and the media are focussing on the petty issues within the parties (and the squabbling that never seems to end before, during and after an election) while the electorate are just waiting for someone to actually 'run' the country.A few days of witnessing the party politics was fine. But let's get some policy going now.

Spotted one Plaid member in a Cardiff bar this lunch-time, and looking rather pleased with herself. Thinking back to an earlier post of yours - don't they know what politics is all about? It sound like they need a refresher course (with an exam, ofcourse) Also, sounds like your wife is an excellent consultant - always listen to her Glyn, which I'm sure you do :-D.

Sorry I've no time to respond to comments today - except to say to rhys llwyd - when I became an Assembly Member, I rebuilt part of our house to form my constituency office (at my own expense) so that I had a 24 hour office. The Assembly line was something special, which I have had difficulty getting removed and having the line transferred into a personal line - which finally happens tomorrow. I can then order broadband two working days later and the router arrives five days after that. Trying to have a discussion with BT about all this was unbelievable and enough to reduce grown men to tears of frustration. I was so cross that I couldn't blog last night when I was so angry I couldn't sleep.

Hyperhidrosis is a fairly common disorder shared by millions across the world. By definition, Hyperhidrosis is the excessive sweating of the head, face, hands, feet and armpits no matter the temperature or conditions.

The sweating is erratic, unpredictable and uncontrollable. You do have some options.

To stop the excessive sweating try:

1. Drysol

Drysol is a prescription deodorant that works wonders for underarm, hand and foot sweating. Apply it to your hands, feet, armpits or anywhere else you sweat at night before bed. You only need to apply it once a day - it's not like regular deodorant. This stuff is Clinical Strength. Beware of irritation with Drysol. You may have to take a day or two off from this treatment if your skin gets too dry, sensative or red with a rash.

2. Drink more water to lower your body temperature.

A lot of people are confused by this solution. They think if they drink more water, it will give them that much more fluid to sweat out. This is totally incorrect. Drinking more water cools your core temperature and will alleviate some of the excessive sweating. Of course now you'll need to worry about all those bathroom breaks. :)

3. Drink Green Tea or Sage Tea at night

Tea contains an astringent property which will dry out oils and prevent excess moister from escaping the skin. It essentially drys you from the inside out.

In addition to helping your complexion, green tea will neutralize many of the toxins that create the pungent odor in sweat. By the way, that odor is caused by bacteria that treats your sweat as a breeding ground. Gross!

4. Try Certain Dri (non-prescription deodorant)

You can buy this one at most pharmacies. Certain dry is a little less abrasive than Drysol so you won't need to worry as much about irritation. It is however a little less strong. You'll want to gauge your level of Hyperhidrosis by first trying Certain Dri. If your sweating continues, upgrade to Drysol and that should do the trick.

5. Avoid spicy foods, alcohol and caffeine

Don't underestimate the power of your diet. Onions, Garlic, Curry, Coffee and a whole host of other ingredients are powerful triggers for hyperhidrosis sweating. Cut out some of these cultprits and see gradual but noticeable results. Add leafy greens and tea into your diet for a positive effect on sweating. Changing your diet will really cut out the spontaneous sweating from your daily lunch breaks.

6. Try Iontophoresis treatments.

This is more of a phase 3 solution. Try the clinical deodorants and diet fixes first. However, there is a treatment called Iontophoresis where you place your hands and feet into bowls or plates. The plates are filled with mineral water. Connected to the plates is an Iontophoresis electromagnetic device. Gentle electic pulses are distributed through mineral water. The minerals bond and temporarily change the nature of your sweat pores to block the sweat. This treatment works well. You can learn about it through the Source link I've provided below.

7. Try a Sage Tea Soak

There's something called a Sage Tea solution what you do is...a. Buy Sage Tea from your supermarketb. Fill a large bowl with room temperature waterc. Put the sage tea bags in the bowl and let the tea dissolve a bit.d. soak your hands for 15 minutes in the bowl.

Sage Tea will act as an astringent to dry the skin and prevent excessive sweating for many days to follow.

Don't just do this soak one day. Do it everyday for 5 days straight (15 minutes at a time) and you'll see great results.

If your hands tan from the tea, just wash them in the sink with antibacterial soap. The residue will come off easily.

8. ETS (Endoscopic Thorasic Surgery)

If the sweating is bad enough, some people will opt towards ETS (Endoscopic Thorasic Surgery). This is, however, a LAST resort. I recommend you try everything else possible before opting towards surgery. You can speak with your Dermatologist to find out more.